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Three Cell 20 Round Thompson Pouches


101CH47
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This photo presents somewhat of a mystery to me and hopefully the photo is relative enough toward US equipment to post here. If not please tell me which folder it should be posted to.

The photo, taken in 1944 during the Warsaw uprising, shows what are clearly Thompson pouches but they appear too short to be 30 round pouches and I am unaware of a 20 round three cell version.

The photo was posted by a friend of mine in Europe and he was told that in 1941 Yugoslavia had a contact for three cell 20 round pouches. Any one have any information about this?

post-2964-0-58961400-1569684744_thumb.jpg

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These Polish resistance fighters salvaged a lot of equipment that was abandoned or handed in by the Germans, there's photos out there showing Red Army troops with lend-lease Thompson guns. It could be that the Germans managed to confiscate some and that they were then recycled by the Polish resistance (edit: as you probably know, Stalin did not relieve Warsaw in order to strenghten the communist grip on the country, so there's little chance that these were donations from the Russians. Maybe they even saw the Mediterranean or Western front in German hands).

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It could be a 5 cell pouch that new owner cut for better mobility. The pouch on the right could just be 2 cell (the rest of the pouch)

 

Just my thought

 

Thanks, that is one possibility I have considered. This may just remain one of those mysteries no can answer for sure.

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Thanks, that is one possibility I have considered. This may just remain one of those mysteries no can answer for sure.

Definitely, which is why collecting this stuff is so much fun, looking forward to more opinions

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Those pouches aren't for Thompson magazines. They are magazine pouches for the United Defense M42 submachine gun. Judging by the fraying on the man's left-hand pouch, one pocket has been cut off from the original four. I found a better picture of the same man, who's name is Eugeniusz Lokajski, showing both pouches head-on.

 

https://lfi-online.de/ceemes/webfile/show/1216087/MPWIN768.jpg

 

Here is the same picture as in the initial post at a higher resolution and not colorized.

 

https://lfi-online.de/ceemes/webfile/show/1215818/MPWIN769.jpg

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